3 Ways to Remain Productive During the Summer

Though we’re about halfway through it, there’s still a lot of “summer” remaining on the calendar. Which also means that there are still lot of potential “summer slump” distractions that can deter one’s focus on operating a small business.

As an on-the-go entrepreneur, I am an extreme believer in the age-old adage that time is very often more valuable than money. And any processes or tools that I can utilize to save time and “automate” certain portions of my business – especially in the summer when pool dips, family gatherings and beach getaways are top of mind – I’m all for them.

To keep the summer season from sizzling your productivity, here are three tips you can use as a small business owner to keep work moving forward.

Set New Seasonal Goals and Stick To ‘Em

Small business owners are accustomed to making fiscal year sales goals. Bur there is nothing written in stone that says they cannot be re-examined or even changed in the summer season, especially if seasonal changes have an impact on your business.

For example, a caterer specializing in corporate holiday functions could set a new goal to cater five corporate summer parties. Or perhaps a moving company could explore expanding their service to a seasonal special for college students moving back home for summer break.

The idea is that setting a new goal for the summer system not only keeps you productive in coming up with creative solutions to grow your business, you’ll also have an entire new business sub-segment to set goals for and increase revenues.

Take It Back to Summer School

When did you feel you knew absolutely everything about running, maintaining and revolutionizing your small business?

The reality is that operating a small business is a continuous learning experience. And in the spirit of “summer school,” this could be an optimal time for small business owners to immerse themselves in learning new strategies, tips or tools that can elevate their business and improve their personal knowledge expertise.

There are a wealth of resources – local continuing education courses, webinars, expert speaker events – available to keeping a small business owner’s mind sharp and their business as innovative and on-trend as possible, so take advantage.

Tap Your Tech Tools

Remember when I mentioned my love for tools that save time and “automate” my work life? Well, tech tools top my list of “must-haves” for small business owners especially ones that enable them to conduct everyday business when the summer season beckons them out of the office.

One of my recent go-to favorites is the latest update to free Adobe Scan app that enables users to turn business cards (I collect hundreds each year!) into a shareable digital contact in any of my mobile devices. No more typing in names or phone numbers – just a quick scan and the information is saved. Make sure you download it today and see how it can help get your business into the digital age.

Maximize Productivity And Work From Anywhere

Also new from Adobe Document Cloud is their latest integration with Microsoft. Leaving the challenge of merging files created in different formats in the past, Office 365 users can access Adobe PDF services directly from online versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint and convent them into high-quality PDF files. They can also access Adobe PDF services within SharePoint and OneDrive to create and view high-quality Adobe PDFs. In a world of looming deadlines and the constant demands to deliver more work in less time, every little bit helps.

Let’s say you had a “Eureka!” moment in a restaurant while traveling with your family for summer vacation and you sketch something on a napkin that you want your client to see right away. Easily scan the napkin sketch with the Adobe Scan app and send it to the client as a PDF to review and comment on. The client can send the PDF sketch back to with notes about suggested changes before you create the actual design.

Any small business owner can attest to the value of tools that are easy-to-use, support the mobile lifestyle they have to subscribe to at times and in this day of cyberattack worry, do so with unquestionable security. These updates from Adobe provide this, making it much easier to be productive this summer and every season beyond. Try a free trial of Adobe Acrobat today by clicking here.